The Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum is a central part of the Governments ten year childcare strategy:
The Early Years Foundation Stage Framework (EYFSF) is set out by the Government and sets the standards for learning, development and care for children from birth up to 5 years of age.
There are six areas in which our Early Years Professionals support children to learn and develop. These are:
For more information about the Early Years Foundation Stage please see our EYFS information area of the Parent Board or download full guidance at www.teachernet.gov.uk/publications.
We believe children are capable of more than sometimes society expects of them, which is why we observe and assess a child's capabilities carefully and then involve them in more challenging play as soon as they are ready. We have seen the possibilities realised of teaching two year olds the phonics alphabet and the impact it had on their understanding of letter bonding (m-u-m or d-a-d) when early reading and writing came into play. As long as the foundations for learning are laid correctly, there is no reason why a child can't learn earlier than the curriculum anticipates by the average 'age and stage' of development. If they interested and having fun, why not? It takes more planning, adapting and thinking for our staff, but that's what makes us different – the extra mile.
At the Snowy Owls, the emphasis for planned learning is on tantilising the children's senses, early talk, expressing needs and developing mobility and gross motor skills. Words and sounds, numbers, colours and shapes are introduced in a multi-sensory blend of storytelling, puppets, role play, messy play, bubbles and music, building the love of language and stories right from the start. The soft play gym and outdoors toddler climbing frame and ride alongs, all help to build their muscle strength and co-ordination. Arts and crafts, role play and messy play help them develop their creative and imaginative flair. Children's individual plans are developed every six weeks and progress is recorded through observations, photos and progress reviews. All of these are kept in their individual learning journal and shared with you twice a year at parent's evenings, or any other time you wish to see them.
Our over 2's also enjoy a wide range of resources arranged in workshop areas through the inside and outside of nursery. The areas of play link on so that if a child has been building a junk model car in 'make and do', they can easily gather paint, glitter and collage materials to decorate it from the graphics area. Similarly, our small world farms, garages, dolls houses, tracks and cars etc.. are located near the books and role play areas to enhance their imaginations and allow their play to link with other parts of the nursery and encourage them to use other resources. Children's individual plans are developed every six weeks and progress is recorded through observations, photos and progress reviews. All of these are kept in their individual learning journal and shared with you twice a year at parent's evenings, or any other time you wish to see them.
The philosophy of our Forest Schools is to develop confidence and curiosity within children in their early years through positive outdoor experiences.
